


Runaway Train

by AnotherLoser



Category: Glee
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-31 18:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13980597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherLoser/pseuds/AnotherLoser
Summary: “...Like you said, we don't talk.  You want me to hang out with him or something?” Puck scoffed.“Not specifically. Look, he's not the best liar but he's good at keeping to himself and pulling a tough face. He's been doing it since his mom died. I can't get to him and he hasn't been hanging out with those glee girls in a little while. We've been here before.” It was clever.  They didn’t like each other, so Puck shouldn’t feel bad for spying and the mention of Kurt’s dead mother made even him feel a little bad.  It was well thought out and well played.  Perhaps the Hummel’s had more in common than they seemed.“...I'll look out.”-Once upon a time two or three years ago I wrote three chapters of this and then decided it was my worst fic and took it down but saved the files.Editing has been done, so here we are again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I return to Glee. I still don’t like the pacing for this chapter but it’s the best I can do.

“I don't understand, Noah. What were you thinking?” While his mother paced back and forth in the kitchen, Puck sat still on the couch with his eyes on the floor. She was disappointed for sure, and he hated that. Disappointed parents were always bad for the conscious for anyone, he's pretty sure, but it felt different. Sure, she wasn't the greatest mom in the world but she tried so he did too. She didn't care about his grades as long as he didn't have to repeat a year, and there were a lot of things that flew over her head; how he treats people at school, any petty crimes of his, even Quinn's pregnancy the year before would have gone unnoticed if he didn't tell her himself.  
She always seemed to know when he was out late though, even if she was asleep when he left and got home. He suspected his little sister was passing information.

This time it was the school who told her. Granted, he  did  nearly break parole and the fact she was called rather than his P.O. was actually generous. The damage to his truck was a good punishment as it is, and the guilt from an angry mother tops it off nicely.

“You have to pay for it yourself. No grounding, but you're going to pay for the damage. Understood?” He didn't protest. He had no savings, but he didn't point that out.

The next day he sat in class with his mind in the gutter. He ran through the list of people he knew and tried to avoid the inevitable. Kurt was the only person who might prove useful. If anything he can at least get his dad or whoever else worked in the shop to work on it faster. It was just some dents, probably no big deal to fix. Of course Kurt may have told his dad about the dumpster incidences, or the shoving, or the tripping, or the slushies. Puck loosened up on it all with the other glee kids, especially the slushies after experiencing them, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still giving Kurt a hard time.

He didn't do worse than shove him anymore though. Kurt's sexuality never had much to do with it, after all. Puck had always just thought the kid was weird. Weird and girly and snobbish- as if he was better than everyone else for showing off how different he was.

Puck waited until a bit later in the day to track him down, which was probably the easiest thing to do, but he wasn't entirely sure how to approach someone who looked the way Kurt did. He wasn't near his own locker but still plastered to the ones behind his back. His eyes were closed and the rise and fall of his chest was so small he looked like he was barely breathing at all.  
Puck hovered nearby for the few minutes it took for Kurt to calm down before doing anything. He crossed to the side of the hall Kurt was on and walked by his side while they started back to his locker. Kurt didn't say anything to acknowledge him.

“Hey.” Puck started, voice raised somewhat to make sure Kurt did in fact know he was there.  
“Hi.”  
“I need a favor.”  
“You  need something from  me?  What a miraculous occasion. What do you want?” With still not even so much as a side glance, this was starting to bother him almost as much as Kurt's flat tone.  
“My truck has some dents that need to be worked out and your dad owns a shop-”  
“And you want me to see if he can make it go faster or get you a discount or something, right?”

“Either or...What's going on with you?” He asked, stepping in front of Kurt. The smaller boy just pursed his lips and darted his eyes away, griping the strap of his bag tighter. “I'll talk to my dad when I get home.”  
“And..?”  
Kurt sighed through his nose and finally looked up at Puck. “And  what?”  
“Well if you're not going to tell me what's wrong aren't you at least going to ask for something in return? C'mon this is the perfect opportunity for revenge here, I can't believe you're not taking it.”  
“You sound like you want me to. But don't worry, I'd never stoop to your level. Do me a favor and screw off, I'm not in the mood.”

The next day everything was back to normal. Kurt was tired, but he always seemed like he could use a nap lately, so Puck brushed that off and accepted the invitation to bring his truck by the shop after school. Kurt didn't say anything else. He was suddenly aware of the fact he had never talked to Kurt's dad before though. He was a little fuzzy on what the man even looked like, but later he waits by the front desk for who he assumed was the right person while he was on the phone.

“Sorry 'bout that.” He started, setting his hands on the desk in between them. “What can I do for ya?”  
“Kurt said he gave you a heads up 'bout my truck.”  
“Right, right. Noah. Burt Hummel.” He offered a hand to shake before continuing. “He also mentioned finances might be a problem.” Even if Puck was broke, he was somewhat insulted to hear that Kurt just assumed he was. By the looks of the shop though he had no room to talk no matter how fancy he dressed. Wether or not that was an actual secret, Puck had no idea.  
"Yeah uh... I can work, if that helps.”  
“I was hoping you'd say that.”

Lucky for Puck, Burt didn't ask what happened to his truck when they were going over the details. They decided that Puck would work after school until he needed to go home for dinner and Burt told him that Kurt would be there for a few hours every day if he needed help. For some reason the fact that Kurt worked in an auto shop caught him off guard.

One week of working there showed him just how little he knew about his classmate. Kurt had worked there since he was seven when he started by handing his dad tools and learning the names of as many parts as he could.  He and his dad were closer than expected but apparently he kept trying to avoid talking about why he was so tired, which Burt says reminded him of how Kurt was before the glee club started, but he didn't mention what that meant.  Kurt also did all of the cooking in the house aside from when he teaches his dad a new dish and the occasional times Burt tries to surprise his son by making them on his own.

He didn't think about it much outside of the shop.  Not until he'd see Kurt flinching when a locker slammed or he walked in on a once again paralyzed version of him that put on a facade after only a minute or two, one that's only flaw was the dry tone.  Then there was talk of a wedding and Kurt shot right out of his tired rut with the excitement.  Whoever he was always texting seemed to help too.

When the week was over, Puck decided to stop being so ridiculous and get back to how things used to be when Monday came. He'd toss the kid in the dumpster and get back to how it was _supposed_ to be. That decision was perfectly fine until dinner on Sunday night and his mom made another one of those comments that would stick with him for a while.

“Why don't you invite friends over, Noah? You know they're always welcome here.”  
“Ma, you don't like my friends.”  
“...What about those nice kids in the glee club?”  
“Yeah they're not exactly my friends.”  
She sighed and shook her head. “I wish you had some better influences.”

He thought about it that night, ran through who he could call a good influence. He wasn't going to hang out with the girls, Artie was sort of a friend but Puck's house was cramped and the chair probably wouldn't do well there. Finn and Mike stopped joining in on the dumpster tosses and the like a while ago, but his mom didn't know that and she rarely changed her mind about  anything. That Sam kid seemed nice but he didn't want to deal with hearing about Quinn, and he had a feeling his own reputation was why they hadn't so much as had a conversation yet. He was still going to try with him though since his only other option was Kurt, and he was....Kurt.

Come Monday Puck got Kurt in the dumpster like he should and tracked Sam down, which didn't go too well either. Apparently Sam was a good influence type of person, the kind that didn't want to hang out with a guy tossing people into the trash.  
He dismissed the idea of finding someone his mother would approve of to make her happy after that. She would forget about these worries soon enough and pick something else to nag him about anyway.

And then Wednesday came and the solution he didn’t want was thrown in his face when Burt stopped him before he could leave.

“Noah, can I talk to you a minute?”  
“Sure thing, Mr. H. What's up?”  
“I wanna talk to you about Kurt...I know you two don't really talk and you're here to work, but I know when something is going on with my kid. I'd ask Finn but they aren't on too good a terms right now.” Puck glanced around expectantly, waiting for a punch line of some sort. “I just need to know if he's ok.”  
“...Like you said, we don't talk. You want me to hang out with him or something?” Puck scoffed.  
“Not specifically. Look, he's not the best liar but he's good at keeping to himself and pulling a tough face. He's been doing it since his mom died. I can't get to him and he hasn't been hanging out with those glee girls in a little while. We've been here before.” It was clever. They didn’t like each other, so Puck shouldn’t feel bad for spying and the mention of Kurt’s dead mother made even him feel a little bad. It was well thought out and well played. Perhaps the Hummel’s had more in common than they seemed.  
“...I'll look out.”

The next day Puck hunted down Kurt to get things over with before he could change his mind. He found the boy at his locker and leaned on the one beside it before opening his mouth, frowning when Kurt suddenly looked down, if only for a second. “Hey, princess.” Puck started, brushing off the behavior. Kurt sighed as he checked his hair in the small mirror.  
“Can I at least choose which odor ridden trash heap you want to dump me in today? Personally I prefer the dumpsters over the portable toilets.”  
“I'm not dumping you anywhere, dude. I'm almost insulted.”  
“I'm pretty sure the only time we've  ever  interacted is when you're harassing me.” Kurt snapped, making Puck pause again.

“...I did say  _almost _.  Whatever. I want to hang out with you.” He can't remember a time he felt daggers so sharp being sent his way since Quinn had the baby and Kurt wasn't even looking at him straight on yet, only through the mirror. He turned on his heel quickly and crossed his arms stiffly over his chest.__  
“What do you really want, Noah? I don't have the patience to deal with this today.”  
“ _Nothing _...Ok. My mom thinks I need a good influence around so I need you to come over, make her think I'm not hopeless after what happened to my truck.” In retrospect, it would have been smarter to lead with that considering his only believable alternative was to tell the other half of the truth and explain that Burt asked for a favor. Kurt would undoubtedly be more upset over that than anything else Puck could say.__

___“What  did  happen to it?”  
“Long story. Anyway, are you in?” He asked with a hopeful look, grinning when Kurt relaxed his pursed lips._ _ _

_____ _

Puck was somewhat nervous about Kurt coming over. He's not sure why, but it probably had to do with how little he knew about his peer aside from the tidbits of information that he got from working at the shop and only remembered half of.  When the doorbell rang though, dinner was already being made and his little sister had just left for her friend's house, perfect timing in Puck's opinion.  He sat on the couch and listened closely while his mother went for the door.

"Hello, you must be Kurt." She started happily.  
"Yes ma'am.  It's nice to meet you."   Puck could practically hear Kurt's smile while they shook hands.  
"Come in, come in."  
As Kurt stepped inside, he surprised Puck more and more within the minute.  For one thing his outfit was more toned down than normal; a simple grey button up, a white vest, and black jeans.  For as simple as it was for Kurt it was obnoxiously formal for most people, but at least there weren't any weird brooches or rainbow scarfs.  Besides that, he was going through the most polite conversation Puck has ever heard.  It should fit that Kurt got along with women so easily, but for some reason he was expecting a different outcome considering how close Kurt is with his dad.

"Why don't you two go upstairs while I work on dinner?"  
"Sure."   Kurt smiled and gave her a small wave before turning to Puck, who hadn't actually spoken a word so far, but nodded and stood on cue to lead Kurt to his bedroom.  The second the door was closed, Kurt let his smile go and gained a somewhat tired look instead.   "She's nice."   He started, still trying to keep his manners apparently.  
"Yeah, you two sound like besties already." Puck teased.  
"...You know, this would be easier if you didn't insult me.  Ha ha, very funny, the gay kid gets along with women."  
"No, dude, get off the defensive, jeez.  I was kinda surprised.  Didn't really think you'd get along with moms considering you and your dad."   He shrugged, going over to sit back on his bed.  Kurt did the same a moment later with pursed lips, sure to stay on the other side of the mattress.

”Sorry.  I actually do have an easier time with women.  I didn't start getting along with my dad until a little bit after I came out, and moms at least usually said I was cute whereas the men around here did not."  
"How does that work?"   Puck scoffed. "With your dad. I get the adults in general thing."  
"I guess there was less worry about stepping on each other's toes or something.  I was pretty avoidant towards everyone until glee club, so with that in mind it makes sense."  
"You?  Avoidant?  Are you kidding?  Have you seen you?"   At yet another pause, Puck was starting to wonder if he even should be joking or not.  But Kurt just inhaled through his nose and answered as if it was fine.

"Yes.  In case you hadn't noticed, I had no friends until the club started.  It was, believe it or not, from lack of trying.  It's a lot easier to let appearances do the talking.  I'm sure your Mohawk can agree."  
"...Huh.  Touché, princess."  
"Don't call me that."

The subject bounced around from there, mostly arguments about songs or movies until Puck's mother called them down for dinner and Kurt put his happy face back on.  For someone with such an expressive face, Kurt surprisingly was good at this.  
When she asked how he and Puck started hanging out he explained that they just bumped into each other some time after glee started and Puck wondered why he didn't take the chance to get him in trouble or claim to have shown him the light.  It's definitely what Puck would have done.

When the meal was finished, Kurt helped with the dishes and proceeded to plop down on the couch next to Puck.  He couldn't help but be curious if the space always between them was for his comfort or Kurt's own.  Either way, he brushed thoughts aside and lead Kurt back up to his room after a brief argument about what movie they'd watch.  It took a while for them to actually choose something, for obvious reasons, but then it was getting close to Kurt's curfew and he got up before Puck could hit play.

"I need to get home."   While normally he would be happy to let Kurt go as soon as possible, there were two things in the back of his mind saying no.  The first was that they just spent forty minutes arguing over what to watch and he wasn't going to let that go to waste.  The second was that he agreed to figure out what was going on with Kurt and he knew nothing so far. Even that shouldn’t matter, he argues he point with himself, but Burt was letting him work off the bill for his truck and just wanted to look out for his kid. Both were things Puck could respect.  
"We literally just set up the movie, dude.  Just stay the night."  
"...You're ok with that?"  
"Yeah."   He shrugged.   "Long as your dad doesn't kill me for keeping you out, and you keep your hands on that side of the bed.“

Kurt agreed with a roll of his eyes and a hesitant smile, texting his dad before settling at all again but it looked like he'd have to be distracted again for that to really happen.  About half way through the movie, Kurt looks like he's falling asleep. Eyes dropping so heavily they were barely even open at all, his body slouching more and more compared to where he started. Puck thinks he even hears a soft noise from his nose before he nudges him back awake.  
“Dude, it’s like barely midnight.”  
Kurt doesn’t respond to that, but he does sit up properly again, rub his eyes, and talk. “I’m going to ruin this shirt sleeping in it.. god, I’m already covered in wrinkles..” Suddenly Puck decides he should have just let him sleep.

He might be playing nice for both of their parents’ sake but that didn’t make Kurt any less annoying. From the formal clothes to the bitching off an on about ridiculous, pointless things, he truly was not the kind of company Puck wanted to keep.

He offers some of his own clothes to sleep in just to shut him up. When he gawks, he insists it was either that or he just leave anyway. Kurt asks twice if he was sure he didn't mind and thanks him three times. Honestly his jumpiness and assumptions that Puck was going to snap at him wasn’t helping and was getting a bit insulting.  He was relatively calmed down when Kurt had emerged from the bathroom in an oversized long-sleeve shirt and baggy pajama pants that were held up only by the drawstring he had to tighten, which were both obviously going to be too warm tonight considering how comfortable the temperature was without blankets and for puck in short-sleeves. "Ain't that a little toasty?  I have T-shirts y'know."  
"No. I naturally run colder."

He let the warm clothing go, mind moved on quickly to how stupid-adorable it was for Kurt to be curling up and still trying to not actually touch Puck.  He moved slowly and subtly as if he didn't even know he was shifting positions himself until he was on his side with his neck uncomfortably turned to see the computer screen on Puck's lap and his knees halfway to his chest.  Tempted to see how long he would sit like that, Puck said nothing.

When the movie ended he closed the laptop and carefully set it on the floor, trying to move as little as possible. It was surprisingly easy to fall asleep with Kurt next to him. While Kurt's sexuality was never the reason per se for Puck targeting him, he'd be lying if he said he was never worried he'd be spied on in the locker rooms or something. Everyone was worried about it. Everyone was mad about it too. Maybe it shouldn't be so insulting that Kurt was afraid of him still. It's not like he ever clarified things- that if Kurt wasn't so much of a stereo type he might not be bullied so damn much.

Two hours had passed before he was laying awake trying to piece together why he was up in the first place. It only took a few minutes though after he noticed Kurt no longer scrunched up, nearly using his shoulder as a pillow. Puck rubbed at his eyes before sitting up straight to look for the other boy, halfway still in a sleepy daze. He was torn between flattered and furious when he heard a faint whine and a gasp. How typical of Kurt to have a wet dream when he actually hangs out with another guy for once.

And then Puck's mind stopped entirely.  
Kurt was closer to the end of the bed than to Puck, laying at an odd angle on his back, one foot hanging off the end and his head almost hanging off the side. His forehead was shiny from his sweat, his eyebrows knitted together, and his body was stiff. Puck started trying to remember if it was nightmares or sleeping walking you weren't supposed to wake someone from, but that was going nowhere. Instead he shook his head and pushed Kurt's arm. Then again, and again, and finally Kurt jerked awake and nearly slid off the bed, breathing ragged and eyes instantly searching. The second he looked at Puck, his heart stopped. He was absolutely trembling and all Puck could do was stare at him.

He  was on edge just seeing this. “Are you--” He started slowly, quickly cut off by Kurt as the boy spun around to sit on edge of the mattress with his back turned to Puck. “I'm fine. J-ust give me a minute..” He sounded like something in between enraged and terrified. He was surprisingly good at calming himself down, as if he had done it a hundred times before. The reality that he may have very well have sat heavy in Puck's chest. The sound that broke their mutual silence was the final blow. “I'm sorry.” Kurt's voice was quiet and forced.  
“...Don't be.” A sentence he never thought he would say to him, even in a situation like this.  
“What time is it?”  
“Uhhh... One.”

Kurt nodded, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth. His shoulders dropped with a sigh and he laid back. His head rested on Puck's leg, which gave Puck a good look at his face. His eyes were red but even with very little expression, he just looked sad. “Do uh.. D'you wanna talk about it?” Kurt scoffed, a small smile tugging at his lips, and he shook his head. “What? I can be nice y'know.”  
“I know, but really? You of all people want to hear about my nightmares?”  
“Well excuse me for not knowing the proper edict when a dude cries in your bed.”  
“I wasn't crying. My eyes were sweating.”   That might have been the first real joke Puck heard from Kurt and the timing was perfect for it, even if Kurt didn't really look like he was crying after all.

“Right, right.” He chuckled. “Well that's your own damn fault for wearing heavy ass clothes in a warm room. Take that shit off already, you're going to stink it up if any  more  of your sweat sinks in.”  
“As opposed to how much you, hamhog, must sweat in them?”  
“Damn, princess. You're mean when you're tired.”  
“I try. And no, I don't think I will be changing thank you. My sweat will smell better than whatever excuse for cologne you wear.”  
“Hey, I smell awesome. I'm kicking you to the floor if you don't change though, I'm pretty sure the heat isn't going to help your head.”

Reluctantly and with a fading smile, Kurt nodded and got to his feet. When he stood in front of Puck's dresser and grabbed a T-shirt at random, he stopped to look over his shoulder. “Can you not look at me..?” If it wasn't for the sincerity in his voice and on his face, Puck would have jumped at the chance to tease him then. Instead he just said, “Sure.” and covered his eyes with his arm. When Kurt sat beside him again he was in a equally over-sized shirt as the last one, the sleeves going almost past his elbows, and merely in his own boxer-briefs instead of the heavy pants.  
“What happened there?” Puck asked, gesturing to the brown bruising on his knees.  
“Tripped.”  
“Huh. Aaand that one?” He poked a darker blotch on his elbow and Kurt quickly cupped his hand over it. “It uh, it hit a locker the other day.”

Brows furrowing, Puck paused for a moment and pushed the sleeves up farther. He’d only get a glimpse, only for a second before Kurt snaps at him, but he catches sight of more when he does so. A similar bruise was on his other elbow and another bigger but fainter one was on the side of his shoulder. The simple _“Don't touch me.”_ Ends his investigation.

They went back to sleep pretty soon after, but not until Puck lightened the mood back up with some friendly teasing. Kurt was awake long before Puck would be.  Unfortunately for him, Kurt wasn't going to wait around awkwardly in someone else's room for longer than five minutes, which he spent getting dressed and casually looking around the room.  After that, he sat beside Puck and nudged his shoulder, pursing his lips at the lack of any response.  With a sigh, Kurt shook his shoulder quickly.   "Noah."   He snapped. Kurt smiled proudly when Puck's eyes fluttered open.  
"I'm up, I'm up, jesus."   He groaned as he rubbed at his eyes.  The sight of Kurt first thing in the morning was pretty amusing actually.  For one thing, he never thought he'd wake up to that face, but for another it was nice to see him smiling again for once.  Kurt's rain cloud kept him fairly neutral lately.

"How late do you usually sleep?”  
"I dunno, on a weekend like, noon."   Puck shrugged, sitting up on his elbows and watching Kurt get up off the bed.  He went over to the dresser to grab his phone from the top of it while he complained that it wasn't a good habit to sleep so late and how it throws off your mental clock. It really just went in one ear and out the other until Puck heard him hissing "Shit."   Under his breath.  
"Something up?"   Puck asked, finally getting up and going to change his shirt.  Kurt stepped aside while he typed on his phone.  
"Not really, just missed a pile of texts from Blaine and Wes."  
"Uh, who?"   Puck leaned over to glance at the screen until it was hidden, pressed against Kurt's chest.  He quirked a brow and waited for an explanation that seemed to take a moment of thought to be found.

"I met them at Dalton during my spy mission.  They're nice.."  
"Hm."   Puck watched his face for a readable sign of...  Anything, really.  But Kurt was just the same as ever, if not a bit more content.   "Well ok.  Are they gay?"That seemed to spark a bit of irritation rather obviously.   “Blaine is, Wes isn't.  I can hang out with guys without that being relevant you know."  
"Just curious, man.  Chill.  You've been texting a lot lately."  
"I'm surprised you noticed."   Kurt said curiously. “I suspect things will be back to normal on Monday? Honestly this is a little too weird for me.” Kurt said with a small smile, almost playful actually, before continuing to catch up on the messages he missed.  
“Yeah.” Puck scoffed. “Don't worry about that.”

[...]

By the time Monday came, Puck hadn't so much as said one word to Kurt. He didn't really need to, he figured. It would be too weird for either of them to actually talk without a reason. When school started that week though, Puck couldn't help but pay closer attention to Kurt, as much as he denied it to himself.

He stuck near the front doors after the morning dumpster toss, watching Kurt climb out and dust himself off, grip his leather bag strap tightly and take a subtle deep breath as he walked through the doors. Later he'd see a flinch when a locker not even near him slammed, or how close he stuck to  anyone  he knew when walking the halls, how he seemed  hopeful  when Finn was near him at all. What that meant, he wasn't really sure. Puck was pretty sure that fiasco of a crush ended for whatever reason already since there haven't been heart eyes in a while, so he guessed that was just Kurt being relieved. He linked arms with whichever girl he was with, but during lunch or glee he'd sit at a nice distance from anyone else. He didn’t know what to call it but strange.

Puck nearly asked him if he was ok when he and Dave were passing by before he realized what a bad idea that was. Dave grinned at Kurt as they approached, Kurt forced his head higher while his arms tensed at his sides, and Dave quickly shoved his shoulder into Kurt's and sent the smaller boy straight into the lockers roughly.  
Of course Puck already knew that the team was giving him grief and apparently a few bruises, but he didn't want to actually be concerned about it. So he stuck to his plan to not think about it until it was shoved in his face.

Things continued this way all week. Puck denied it really being a problem, then he'd watch someone trip or shove or mock Kurt, who just dusted himself off and carried on with a set jaw. It wasn't until Thursday that Burt asked him how things were going with Kurt, and he was honest about it for once.  
“I mean we all knew he didn't have it easy from the get go, but he's kind of... I dunno. Weird lately. Weirder  anyway. Never really saw how tense he was walking alone, y'know?” He said with a shrug.

That weekend, he decided to run with the same excuse he used last time and asked Kurt to come pretend to be his friend for his mother's ease of mind, and once again it worked. This time they already planned on him staying the night, and Kurt brought his own pajamas to avoid the issue with heat again. His sleepwear was much thinner, but still long-sleeved and pants that were still actually kind of big on him.  
Puck laughed at the fact this was one of the first times he's seen Kurt in pants that weren't painted on. Kurt 'kindly' reminded him that until sophomore year he dressed mostly like a guy before looking down at his legs and adding, “Believe it or not they used to fit me better.”  
“Did you seriously  shrink?” He laughed.“Surprisingly, yes.” Kurt chuckled along- a sound was starting to be more and more rare.

“We need to get some pizza in you instead of those gross salads you eat all the time.” He said as he reached for the phone, planning on following through with that.  
“God, no. Way too many carbs and too much grease in that.”  
“Lighten up, princess. You could use some more meat on your bones.”  
“That's not meat, that's fat.”  
Puck rolls his eyes. “You sound like a girl, dude. One slice or I'm making you sleep in one of my smelly shirts.”  
“Gross.  You are actually forcing me to eat, I can't believe this. How would you even manage to do that?”  
“I'd figure it out, and you only ate like half of your plate at dinner. You need more anyway.” Kurt rolled his eyes, but didn't protest when Puck started dialing.

They were laying next to each other with reasonable distance, scrolling through their phones on different apps and conversations when the doorbell rang and Puck sprang up to answer it.  When he got back upstairs Kurt was in the same position as before, now with a pout on his face.  
Admittedly, it was pretty adorable. Puck shook his head and took his place on the bed again. The day felt like a weird kind of dream; not good or bad particularly, maybe even considered realistic but so odd and detached from reality it was hard to think about in retrospect. It wasn’t as if he hated him anymore or didn’t have some empathy for him since joining Glee, simply he doubted they'd ever see each other outside of school. One of those people you talk to when you end up next to each other and nothing more. He figured that Kurt understood perfectly, and that's how he ended up just as sort-of-comfortable with Puck as Puck was with him.

"If I keep coming over I'm not going to fit into my jeans anymore."   Kurt said once he was finishing his slice of pizza.  Puck, who was finishing his second, rolled his eyes."Swallow before you speak, would you?  And I think we both know I'm not going to start wearing anything loose any time soon, tight jeans look better on me than baggy ones."  
"You look like three years younger when your pants aren't a second skin."   Puck agreed.   "Didn't you already get a bigger size or something though?"  
Kurt quirked a brow, looking over at him curiously.   "No...?  I haven't been shopping in a while."

Puck paused for just a moment when he heard that, making another note to add to the rest of things that he never noticed but seemed to be important.   "You definitely need another slice then."   He replied a little quieter than before.  
"What are you even talking about?"   Kurt groaned as he leaned back against the headboard.  
"Nothing. Just eat so this doesn't go to waste.”  
“Are you telling me you can't eat a pizza on your own?”  
“I can but I don't want to. I actually ate my dinner.”  
Kurt rolled his eyes with a huff. “I didn't eat much because I wasn't hungry, what makes you think I'm hungry now?”  
“The fact that you're a fast eater and I can't tell when you're hungry and when you're not.”

Seeing as Puck wouldn't even take his eyes off of him, Kurt knew full well he wasn't going to win. Pursing his lips and letting the hand in his hair drop to his lap, he broke. “....Fine. I'm starved. Give me a damn slice.”  
Puck grinned with his victory as he handed over another piece, though the feeling quickly faded. “Why weren't you gonna eat anyway?”  
“I just... I haven't—Why  am I telling you any of this..? You don't even like me.”  
“I don't  dislike  you either. And hey, you're helping me out and it's not really as weird as I thought it would be. Least I can do is listen to your lady troubles.” He shrugged. If Puck was good at anything, it was lying.

“I’d start by not saying lady troubles.”  
“Right. Anyway, explain yourself. I actually want to know what's up.” He laid back on the bed, watching Kurt reluctantly eat.  
“Fine. Only because junk food promotes 'lady chats'.” Kurt said through a mouthful. “I just haven't felt that great lately. When I'm nervous I can't eat wether I'm hungry or not.”

“Right...” He briefly wondered what he did to make Kurt too nervous to eat tonight, but in retrospect it wasn't hard to figure out. “You know you've shrunk lately right?” Kurt shrugged. “I haven't been paying that much attention to my weight.” He said quietly.  
Furrowing his brows, Puck hesitated to continue. “Have you seriously been feeling that out of whack?”  
“Yes.”  
“Why?”  
“It isn't anything you'd care about.”  
“Try me.” Kurt scoffed.

“I actually don’t mind having you around, y'know. I mean yeah my mom's glad I have a good influence or whatever but you’re pretty funny when you actually open your mouth.” Seeing Kurt slowly freeze made Puck wish he could have one relationship that wasn’t stupidly complicated. “You're not a bad dude. If someone's fucking you up I'd kinda like to know about it.”

“...The last time someone offered me help, not only did they do nothing but they said it was my fault in the first place.” Kurt spoke softly, almost hesitant to say anything at all. "It might not mean much to you all things considered, but there is a limit to how much harassment I can handle.  I can deal with the dumpsters and the name calling, and I've dealt with bruises for years thanks to the fact I just bruise like a peach."   He trailed off momentarily, voice growing bitter.

Puck didn't look at him while he spoke, but he was going to remember every change in pitch and tone with every word.  Reality was creeping up on him heavily. "But  now I have a death threat over my head and I can't even step foot in the parking lot without feeling like I'm being watched.  Every time a locker slams or I see a letterman jacket turning the corner I'm almost positive I start vibrating.  And it just...  Never ends.  You, who I could have sworn would have been fine with ignoring this, are the _only_   person who's asked if I was ok. And glee club and the teachers can preach about how much they care about everyone's well being but the fact still remains that I can't breath when I see him after he--" Kurt's sudden silence got Puck to finally look at him again, ignoring the feeling of a rock in his chest.  Everything felt wrong.  Kurt had a threat on his life, he sounded as if he was slowly falling into tears when mentioning it, and no one noticed.  Including Puck.  He hasn’t felt this guilty in a while, seeing the effect of the very thing he used to do to this exact person.  But this wasn't all and they both knew it.  Kurt stopped talking for a reason and when Puck looked up to see if there was a reason he only saw Kurt quickly wiping his eyes before a tear could fall and shaking his head.

”Kurt…”  
"Forget it.  Ok?  I can handle it myself.  It's not like it can get much worse than this right?”  
"Yeah, it could.  He could try to kill you.  Who the fuck is doing this?  What did he do?"   Puck snapped, sitting up and staring Kurt down until he realized why that was a bad idea.  When Kurt looked at him, saw how he himself was being looked at, he let out a shuddering breath out his nose, jaw locked shut, and held another one in as if preparing for the worst. They stared at each other for only a few moments but it felt like forever.  Kurt broke the silence by tossing the rest of his pizza back in the box and clearing his throat.   "Not hungry anymore…”

”Why don't you tell anyone?”  
"I've been dealing with this stuff as long as I can remember.  It's escalated, sure, but I'm just adjusting, Noah.  I'm ok."   His smile was soft, not entirely genuine, but it wasn't entirely false. 

[…]

Two weeks passed in routine.  On the weekends Kurt would stay at Puck's house, during lunch they might sit together, they always did in glee, and Puck even got some  of the other jocks to back off of Kurt.  When he saw him skipping lunch he'd pat Kurt's back before continuing with whatever he was doing before, a small gesture but one Kurt seemed to appreciate. At the shop they'd work together.  Which meant Puck would work and Kurt would sit near him explaining how to do something if he needed to, and otherwise just chatting since Kurt got his work done at least twice as fast.

He still didn't quite know what was going on with Kurt.  He assumed it was Kurofsky that threatened him after the other glee guys were sent to demand he back off.  Later in the choir room, he bit his cheek to keep from letting loose on Finn for not being there.  They were almost brothers weren't they?  It's a sibling's job to protect the other isn't it?  He waited until they were alone to bring it up, starting by punching Finn's arm.  
"Dude what the hell?! Ow.." He rubbed at the now sore spot.  
"Where were you?  Even I would have been helping Kurt and you, his soon to be brother, were nowhere!”

”Jesus--you too?  He's not my brother!  I should have been there, I get it, but he's not my brother.”  
Shaking his head, Puck set his hand on Finn's shoulder.   "You're such a wuss, man. Such a wuss.”  
"Wh-“

"It's cause he's gay isn't it?  I'm not afraid to clock you, go ahead and be honest.”  
"Are you kidding me?!  You nailed his furniture to his roof for the same reason!”  
"Yeah.  I did. And then I stopped because it's fucking stupid.  I don't know a lot about the gay thing, and I'm not exactly cool with it either.  But you see a kid skipping lunch because he's too scared to stomach anything, and you change your mind a bit.”  
"He--you--what?”  
"Pay attention for once.  Even I'm not enough of a douche bag to ignore how much shit is in the fan right now.”

After that, he didn't talk to Finn so much.  
He didn't get to talk to Kurt as much in the past three days either.  No one did apparently.  Puck asked Mercedes if she knew where he was and she first scoffed and threatened to stick her fork in his leg if he was doing something to bother Kurt.  After that she explained that he hadn't been talking to any of the girls as much lately.  He wasn't surprised since he was already avoiding them outside of school, but inside was more concerning.  
Later he saw Mr. Schue  leading a shaking Kurt down the hall.  
He didn't say anything. In fact, they didn't speak again until later in the week. Buzzing with excitement, Kurt was nearly skipping down the hall over to Puck. He'd laugh if it wouldn't be taken the wrong way.

“So.” Kurt started, leaning on the locker beside Puck. “The Hudmel clan wedding is coming right around the corner and you, much like my dad and Finn, can't slow dance.”  
“Hey now—”  
“I know this because Quinn told me about the time you tried to take her on a real date, and Finn said you're coming to the wedding so don't try and get out of this. I'm teaching them how to dance already so I want you to come too.”

“Really, princess? Do I look like the guy that's gonna slow dance with anyone let alone another dude?” He scoffed, grinning slightly all the same.  
“No but I wasn't asking. You're not going to make a fool of yourself there, I refuse to let you. Also if you call me princess  one  more time, I'm going to shave your mohawk while you sleep.”

His face dropped. “You wouldn't.” Kurt makes a face like he’s pretending to consider it further, head tilting to the side before snapping back up with his reply.  
“Yes, I would. Meet me in the choir room after school, Finn and dad will be there too so at least you wont be the only one dancing with me, if that makes you feel better.”

And just like that, Kurt was trotting down the hall again. Puck chuckled softly to himself and shook his head. Probably humiliating, yes. Entertaining as hell to see Finn dance with Kurt? Absolutely. It was definitely worth it to do anything if he got to see Kurt acting this normal again. Although he does have to wonder now, how long he and Quinn have been talking. That was a dangerous path for Puck. He didn't have to wonder long, thankfully, as she hurried to his side once his next class had ended.

“Puck. I need to talk to you.”  
“Shoot.”  
“It's about Kurt.” He paused. Only for a second, but she caught it and continued quickly. “You've been talking with him more lately.”  
“Yeah..? And?”  
“ _And_ he's starting to think you two are friends.”

“We are. I think.. What's it to you anyway? I didn't know you even looked at each other.”  
“We don't. Normally. He's been out of it, you've seen. Actually, you seem to know more than any of us.”  
With a huff, Puck stopped in his tracks and pulled Quinn to the side. “What're you getting at? I don't have all day.”

She pursed her lips and folded her arms over her chest, a mildly annoyed and threatening look that he's very familiar with. “He usually talks with the girls, he hasn't been. But he  is  still talking to you. Some of us are concerned that you're pretending to be his friend for some elaborate scheme.” At his scoff and over-dramatic eye roll, she hurried to continue much more bitterly than before. “You haven't been tossing him in the the dumpster anymore either, so it makes sense that there was some other kind of plan going on. Maybe you got bored with the usual tactics and decided to be cruel, I don't know, bu—”

“Tossing him in the dumpster was cruel already. I've had a change of heart.” He shrugged. “If you guys noticed half as much as you say you do, maybe you'd get it. But you don't. He's not so bad, even if he does weird me out sometimes. Hell, he's making me learn to slow dance later and I do not slow dance. I promise you, there is no secret plan going on. I've just got better eyes than the rest of you losers now.”

“And when the hell did that start?” Quinn asks, blinking up at him with a falsely coy expression.  
“When his dad asked me to keep an eye out and I actually did a better job than any of this friends.”

When the school day was finished, Puck took his time getting to the choir room. Honestly he'd rather spend as little time as possible in dance lessons. By the time he got there all he could do was stand cautiously in the doorway.  
Finn stood in front of Kurt, Burt beside him and both of them almost  glaring.“Tell him or I will.”  
“He's been harassing me..” Kurt said hesitantly.  
“Harassing you  how?”  
“Just.. Shoving me. Calling me names…”  
“There's more, isn't there? There's something you're not tellin' me.”

Puck eye'd Kurt's shaking hands, remembered the hesitance in his voice from other days. He stepped into the room while Kurt searched for his voice. “The guy threatened to kill him.” Puck announced, drawing all eyes to himself.  
“What?” Finn's brow's knitted together and his eyes, like Burt's, bounced between Kurt and Puck quickly.

"That true?"   Burt asked, turning to Kurt and obviously trying not to snap.   Kurt watched Puck for just a second more before looking at his dad and slowly nodding, his voice coming out as a whisper, "Yeah.”  
"Why didn't you tell someone about this?!”

Puck tossed his backpack to an empty chair, doing his best to take the attention off of Kurt.   The fidgeting tipped him off before his friend's pleading eyes could.  It wasn't hard to guess that Kurt didn't want to tell them. He could see why too when Burt started to walk backwards, obviously about to take off. Puck hurried to answer before he could. Not because he didn't want to see someone get taken down for what he’s done, but because he had good fight or flight instincts, and that included when the flight would leave someone he actually liked crumbling.   "It's his business that's why.  And we can't prove who it was.”

"We?"   Burt's glare could freeze fire, Puck quickly realized.  
"Yeah. I found bruises a couple weeks ago. No one's  caught  this shit and otherwise there's no way to prove who did it.   School board loves their jocks, and I would know, I hardly ever get in real trouble around here.”

He’s surprised there wasn’t an audience in here yet. If not for the time of day there might be; shouting might be normal enough in the choir room but with the doors open and an adult involved it was something of a spectacle.  
”Why didn't you tell us about this?!   What about the guys in glee?!   We could--" Finn tries to interject.

"First of all, the guys already tried helping, yourself not included mr. 'I was too busy to defend my almost-bro'.  Secondly, it's his fucking business and he can tell who he wants!  And  third, what are you gonna do?  Follow him around like a bodyguard-like he can't take care of himself?”  
"He can't take care of himself! Clearly!”

The humor in this was quickly fading.  Burt was slowly backing down as Puck and Finn yelled at each other, just as clueless as either of them.   Kurt looked like he might be holding his breath as he slowly took a step backwards.   It was then that Puck met his eyes and they had a silent agreement. "How pathetic do you think he is?!”

"Not pathetic just—“  
"Lets just form secret service around him!"   Puck yelled sarcastically, waving his hands around for effect.   "That wont make him feel small or anything!”  
"I'm trying to help!”  
"Doing a great job of it!”

"Since when do you even care?!   A couple months ago you were just as bad as the rest of them!”  
"And unlike you I'm capable of growing!  I saw what it does to him!”  
"HEY!"   Despite his intentions, Puck was somewhat grateful to be interrupted. He was getting serious.   He was meant to be a distraction.   Technically it worked, though, he realized as Burt yelled.  "Where the hell is Kurt?!”  
“Shit…” Finn whispered as his tensed shoulders dropped.

[…]

Kurt was safely tucked away in his bedroom before his dad and Finn could get home. He was sat at his desk when they got there, adding the finishing touches to a jacket he was altering. Sewing wasn't exactly the best thing to do when he was mad, but neither was letting a project go unfinished. The front door slamming shut was definitely going to make him hurry up though. Only a few minutes of silence passed before he could hear footsteps.  
Burt tapped on the door before stepping inside. “Can we talk?” He wasn't calmed down yet, obviously, but Kurt was pretty sure he wasn't going to yell again as long as Kurt didn't go to make this worse. “If you're going to tell me to ask for help, no.” He wasn't off to a good start.

“Kurt—”  
He spun around in his chair quickly to face his dad. “No. I'm not going to do it. I can handle myself just fine, in case you haven't noticed. He's a moron, big deal. No one is going to believe me anyway besides you and principal Sue but she can't do anything without proof either. The last time I tried to tell the glee club what was going on half of the room just sat there and the other half told me I should try blending in more. It's just part of me being who I am and I refuse to be anything less. If that means I get thrown around a little then so be it.”  
He could see his father's disappointment and concern easily. He took a deep breath when he didn't get any kind of response. “I'm sorry, dad. I am. But telling you means you freaking out and you don't need that stress..”

“It's not your job to worry about me, Kurt. I'm the dad here, I'm supposed to know what's going on with you wether I can handle it or not. That's part of being a parent.”

“I know. I just see that look you get when you get the calls and most parents don't have to deal with that much, none the less the problems at school.” He shrugged. “It's just a part of life for me here. Other people shouldn't have to deal with it.”

“.....And what about Puckerman? He said he saw what it does to you. What does that mean? Why does he get to see what's going on?”  
He swallowed hard, hearing his father's voice falter. “It was just timing.. I had a nightmare when I stayed the night once and apparently I was freaking out in my sleep.”  
“You have nightmares?”  
Shit.

“I…Sometimes. Can we please not talk about this? It's really ok, dad.”  
“No it's not.” He started over to the desk. “Kurt  _you are worth something_.  You  matter. You can't just let people push you around because you're different! Walking in with your head high is great, it is, but it doesn't stop anything! You can't do everything alone! If anyone cares about you, then they will be happy to deal with it with you! Asking for help doesn't make you weak, Kurt, it makes you smart. You're better than this—better than him!”

He couldn't do it. Burt only got louder, while Kurt was starting to fume. He understood his father's point, what he was trying to do. But he couldn't just nod along and pretend to agree.  
“And what will fighting back do?! It only makes things worse!”  
“God  dammit,  Kurt!”

“I know what you're trying to say but it doesn't help anything! If I stoop to their level they're going to get more violent and I'm going to  _actually_ be killed!”

They both fell silent. Kurt swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to focus on his breathing rather than his father staring back at him.  
“...I shouldn't be yelling. I'm sorry.” Burt finally said.  
“It's fine, dad.” He replied under his breath. “I know you're worried.. This is just... This is the best I can do.” He shrugged.

“I want to ask you to tell me what's going on from here on out. If I did, would you?  Really?”  
After a pause, Kurt slowly shook his head. “It's not your fight.”  
He didn't see it too clearly, but Burt's heart broke somewhere in that conversation. With a dry throat and stinging eyes, Burt nodded slightly. “You are your mother's son.”

Kurt chewed his lip. “Carole is probably worried about all the yelling... I um. I'm going to go talk to Finn. He's probably pissed at me for not saying something...” Kurt said as he stood up cautiously. Burt nodded, swallowing hard.

“Y'know, Puckerman said that the guys tried to help.. And that Finn wasn't a part of that. That true?”  
“Yes. They apparently got in a fight with Kurofsky when reason didn't work. You'd think they would have won but Sam came out of it with a black eye.” He chuckled weakly, trying to lighten the air in the room. “But um... No. Finn wasn't there. He said he was busy, I think. But it's fine, it's not like I asked them to do it.”  
“He should have been there anyway.” Burt shook his head as he made his way to the door with Kurt.

When they left the room, Burt patted his son's shoulder before going back upstairs while Kurt turned to Finn's room. He tapped on the open door before stepping in, watching his almost-brother's hesitance to look at him. “Hi…”  
“Hey.. Do you... I mean... Is all of that stuff true? The stuff you were yelling about?”

“So you heard all of that.” He started cautiously, making his way to the bed to sit down. “Yes, it's true. Look, Finn, I-”  
“Why did you and Puck start hanging out?”

His brows knitted together. “Uhm.. I don't know, actually. He asked me to pretend to be his friend so his mom wouldn't worry so much and then said that he kind of likes having me around I think so… Ask him.”  
“How much does he know that we don’t?”

“I… A lot.”  
“Why? What's wrong with us? What happened to being friends with the girls I mean you used to spend all of your time with them and now it's like...” Finn took in a sharp breath, leaning his elbows on his knees.

Kurt pursed his lips and shrugged. “None of you can understand.” He set his hands on his thighs as he stood.  
“And Puck does?”  
Kurt glanced over his shoulder to see Finn actually looking at him again. “No. But he doesn't pretend to, and he listens.”


	2. Chapter 2

When school came the next day, Kurt strutted in the same as he always did. He held onto his bag strap tightly until Finn was going his own way. By that time Puck was already catching up to him before he could reach his locker.  
“Hey, Kurt.”  
“Not princess today?” He teased, earning himself a curious look from Puck. He rubbed the back of his neck and furrowed his brows. Kurt's ability to bounce back was still both amazing and confusing. Half the time he didn't use that skill anymore, and when he did use it Puck wasn't sure how to take it. When he was bothered by something he was going to let himself be bothered for a while. Kurt on the other hand had two defaults, bitchy and friendly. When he was upset, he might mope for a few minutes before covering it up.

“Nah. Look uh. You ok? Yesterday got kind of intense.”  
“It's not the worst I've dealt with.”  
"Well yeah but with your dad being your dad-"  
"My my, Puckerman.  Are you worried?"  He grinned.  
Realizing this was a battle he wasn't going to win, Puck smirked in return.  "You kidding?  As if."  He scoffed.

"Mhm.  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go track down some coffee."  
"Didn't get any at home?"  He quirked a brow, following as Kurt started down the hallway again.  
"No.  I had to hurry to avoid another talk with dad or Finn.  He's probably going to be giving you the stink eye by the way."  Kurt explained with a light tone, glancing up at puck.  
"Wait, what?  _Why_?" Of all the people to be mad at him Finn wasn't the last on the list. He had been pissed the day before like everyone in that room, Puck no doubt had insulted him, and that was on top of the rest of their rocky history. He wouldn't blame him, but Finn was usually more of a cold shoulder kind of guy.

"Because I trusted you with information I didn't trust the club with.  Maybe he actually likes the idea of us as brothers? If that's the case it might've hurt that I didn't go to him first. Oooor the fact you've moved past the gay thing with me faster than he has is annoying."  
"Oh.  Well shit.."

[...]

Kurt wasn't mad at Finn.  But he was mad in general.  Maybe not even mad exactly.  He wasn't sure.  He knew that he wasn't happy though and harmlessly annoying someone was better than letting his blood boil and fear ruin his appetite again.  So once he had his coffee, he and Puck spent most of their time in between classes with each other.  As the other glee clubbers passed, some obviously looking to talk to one or both of them, Kurt felt definite satisfaction in the looks they got. As much as they had been getting along in the past few weeks, the extent of this friendship in public was sitting by each other when they were in the same room.

The two times he walked by himself in between classes, the club members that saw him looked less than pleased. Word spread fast about what happened. Kurt assumes Finn told Rachel and Rachel never kept her mouth shut in any situation. By now everyone was feeling hurt Kurt didn't step forward, while some seemed conflicted with their pity. Sympathy. He didn't really care which it was, either way it meant someone was feeling sorry for him. It was the kind of thing he tried to avoid at all costs; even when pitying himself Kurt didn't ask for others to do the same.

Mercedes was the only one willing to actually talk to him about it so far though. He isn't particularly comforted by her hug but he appreciates the effort. He appreciates less the comments about ditching Puck after school to maybe get a break. Another gesture well intended, he knows, but the day was going swimmingly with his new blossoming friendship. So much so that Puck even seemed happy himself when Kurt came back to his side in between classes.

It was a fact with the rest that Kurt would have doubted a month ago, but people can change. If he had reason to, he could flip himself inside out and show up to school with both a new outlook and a persona within a week(complete with new a wardrobe). In fact, he had once already. Kurt Hummel was nothing if not talented.

But this was about Puck. Puck and his new found knowledge. “ _Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt_ ” Blaine had said, and those words flashed through his mind as his friend draped an arm around his shoulders.  
Blaine would want to know about this, actually. He should text him about it after class, which he was currently walking to when Puck spoke up.

“Guessing you two made up?” He must have seen the hug.  
“Mhm. Although it sounds like Finn told everyone what was going on before morning.”  
“Seriously? The gossip trail in that club is insane.”  
Kurt nodded. “Mmmhm. There  _is_ only a small group of us though. And half of us have nothing better to do.” He shrugged, glancing up at Puck who was starting to look very smug. “What?” Kurt asked, quirking a brow.  
“Oh, nothing.” Puck mused. With a loud sigh and over-dramatic eye roll, Kurt stopped outside the classroom door. “I'll see you later, Noah.”

Once class was over, Kurt pulled out his phone and started on a message to Blaine immediately. He had to fill his friend in sooner rather than later, since he had one more class of the day before it was time for glee practice, and then Puck's house. Maybe he could get him to join in on the coffee with Blaine he had planned for the next day after school. It should be easy enough, not too close to a line if he was okay with sharing a bed, Kurt figured.

[...]

Puck wondered about his decision today. He was pretty happy with his friendship with Kurt, obviously, but he put work into getting the glares to stop after he joined glee, and they were already starting again. Fear was the best way to keep these morons in line, so he knew there would be damage control for walking around with the gay kid. He just really wished he knew how bad it was going to be. He probably had until the end of the school day at least, so he could prepare, or at least make sure as few people were around as possible. He didn't need anyone to know about what may or may not be going on with him, lest his reputation take a dip again. At least last time it was just some geeks thinking they could mess with him, and he was tired enough that he let them. They couldn't actually get he upper hand if he argued. His issue with Kurt would be the jocks at first, and soon enough the rest of the school if he makes this a regular thing.

[...]

Kurt catches Blaine up in class. Some teachers paid an abundance of attention, called out every person who texted or tried to pass a note. Others however were just there for the paycheck, not to actually try with their students or their job and let it slide. More notable to Kurt was simply how bizarre the entire situation felt when put into words. Typed out words on a screen to read over repeatedly at that. He'd be lying if he said that no part of him was still afraid this was all a joke. Some kind of set up. Worse was the knowledge that as Puck had a harder time around school for being seen with him, the more reason he might have to turn again and make life even worse.

It's not until he's in glee club that Blaine can get back to him. Dalton was much more picky about their teachers and how their classes were run. A good thing, Kurt thinks, given how high the tuition was. It had better be worth what those kids' parents were paying. Whatever Blaine said next would have to wait though, because halfway through their conversation apparently eyes were on Kurt now.  He looked up from his phone and glanced around at the rest of the room.  "What..?"

"Great, he's not even paying attention."  Rachel huffed.  "We want to hear it from  _you_  what's going on."  
"Because apparently my word isn't good enough for these ass munchers."  Puck said sarcastically.  Kurt wasn't sure when the subject became about him, or where the hell their teacher went, but he wasn't taking it seriously.  This was one of the most dramatic groups of people he had ever met.  
"Are we talking about Noah or Karofsky?  Because those are two completely separate things."  He asked, stunning a few of them with his casual attitude towards the subject.

"Both!  We're worried about you, Kurt."  Tina answered.  
Rolling his eyes, Kurt pocketed his phone and sat up straight.  "Look, none of it is exactly your business.  But to put your curiosity at ease, Puck... is my friend.  We've been hanging out for a little while now.  Yes, I told him things I didn't tell the rest of you but it's my business who I tell, and frankly I wouldn't have at the time if I had another choice about it.  But I'm glad I did because unlike the other neanderthals in this school, he actually had a conscience."

Puck nodded along smugly. He considered the consequences of showing off his friendship with Kurt. They'd make jokes and throw him in the trash, he'd punch someone or just shrug it off - depending on how they go about it - and all would be back to normal the next day. He didn't plan on changing his usual routine or anything to spend more time with Kurt, they text enough and have their weekends. "And as for Karofsky, that is  _definitely_  none of your business."  Kurt continued more sternly. "You said he wants to kill you!"  Finn shouted, paying attention for the first time since Kurt looked up from his phone.  
"You listen here,"  Kurt snapped, standing up suddenly shooting a look at Finn.  "What Karofsky is or isn't doing to  _me_  is  _my_ business,  _mine_ to tell if I choose!  You shouldn't have found out in the first place, but you did, and the least you could have done is keep your mouth shut but you couldn't even do that much and now I look like a crazy little broken toy!  I didn't ask for help because I don't need it! I appreciate what the rest of you guys tried to do for me the other day, I do, but you need to do yourselves a favor and forget about it because if I get one snotty comment or sympathy  _anything_ , I'm going to pitch such a fit no girl in this room will be able to top for years to come."  He spat with venom lining his words.  He hadn't meant to get serious about it, much like Puck the day before.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"  Finn shouted, standing up and turning to face Kurt.  The smaller boy's eyes shot open and he started down the few steps to his brother, shoulders tense and head cocked.  
The rest of the club shot out of their chairs and Finn took a step back as Kurt quickly approached him.  He wasn't mad anymore, or pissed, or simply irritated.  Kurt was furious.  The second the words left Finn's mouth everyone knew what he had just done.  That sentence was a spark in a tank of gasoline.

Puck launched out of his chair after Kurt, wrapping an arm around his waist before he could throw his hand at Finn.  He had to lift Kurt off the ground to keep him back.  Both arms now tightly around him, Puck tried to shuffle backwards with next to no success while Kurt flailed and threw his feet forward at Finn, growling and shouting all the while.  
"Get back here Hudson!  Don't you fucking run from me!  Put me down Puck!  AGH."  He screamed.  "YOU THINK HIDING SHIT WAS MESSED UP JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, MAN-BOOBS!  MY FOOT WILL BE SO FAR UP YOUR ASS YOU'LL TASTE THE LACES--I SAID PUT ME DOWN!"

Puck grunted as he threw his weight into pulling Kurt in another direction, Finn stammered, and the rest just watched in shock, mouths hanging open if not covered by a hand.  Even Santana, though thoroughly impressed, was standing back to process the scene.

"Cool it!"  Puck said through his teeth.  
"NO!"  
"Stop kicking and you can hit me just settle down!"  
"Screw you!  You're not the one I'm mad at!"  Despite his protests, Kurt did stop kicking in favor of squirming, letting Puck set him on the ground even if he didn't let go.  
"Well it's me or spending the day like this!"  
"GOD...  Dammit!"  Finally, he stopped moving.  Half of his weight was still being held up by Puck while he caught his breath, but other than that he was finally just standing again.

The rest of the club was still staring at him, glancing at each other uncertainly.  Even Will was still stuck in the doorway after he returned - to no one's knowledge - during the yelling.  
Huffing, Kurt patted Puck's hand and once he was let go he fixed his rumpled shirt.  After another moment of silence, he spoke up softly. Bitterly still, perhaps.  "Apologies, Finn."  He turned to look at Puck, arms wrapping tightly around himself.  "Can we go now?"  
"Yeah."  He nodded.  "Grab your stuff."  The tension in the room didn't feel as strong between the two, but Puck wasn't any more sure of what to do than anyone else. Kurt, as it turns out, was scary when he snapped.  Puck walked over to the group standing on the side lines and shrugged.  "Keep your trap shut, man.  None of you know what you're sticking your noses in."

"Feeling better?"  Puck asked when they were in the hall. Kurt paused a moment before he shrugged. His cheeks were pink but wether from the physical effort he'd just given or embarrassment for the same scene was anyone's guess. What he did know is that he was exhausted now. “Unrelated..But in an attempt to ignore what just happened, want to get coffee with me and Blaine tomorrow?”  
Puck paused for a moment, but quickly shrugged.  "Sure, I guess.  Am I supposed to know who this guy is though?  Cause I could've sworn I've been paying pretty good attention to what you talk about lately."

"Are you saying you don't normally pay attention?"  Kurt looked up at him curiously, arching and eyebrow and squinting slightly.  "I can't say I'm all that surprised..  But no, I haven't told you much about him at all besides that he exists."  
"Ok cool.”

[...]

Once it was time to meet up with Blaine, Puck was trying not to pull Kurt into a janitor's closet and start demanding answers. He was getting used to the jumpier Kurt that had been around for the past month or so. The Kurt that was too afraid to eat in front of other people and had received a death threat. The Kurt that could fool almost everyone into thinking he was fine, as if he wasn't loosing weight or gaining dark circles around his eyes.

Puck wasn't fooled anymore. What's worse is how he was behaving today of all days. Kurt had been his normal self, sure. For the first little while anyway. His 'resting bitch face' was ever-present, as was Kurt's general welcomeness to friends, but some time between the last two classes of the day he was trying harder. He smiled a little easier than he usually would as of late. It was getting annoying.

He hoped Kurt would be calmed down by the time they got to The Lima Bean. At least when he was sarcastic he seemed ok, now he was just forcing a smile. Unfortunately, Puck was wrong. They walked into the coffee shop and over to a short boy in a blazer. Kurt beamed and for that one moment it might have been genuine.  
“Hey Kurt.” Blaine smiled brightly. He looked up at Puck and held out his hand. “You must be Puck. I'm Blaine.”  
“Sup.” He nodded.  
“I'm going to get a coffee. Do you two want anything?” Kurt asked as Puck and Blaine went to sit down. “Do you really want to give me caffeine?” Puck scoffed. Blaine chuckled and simply said “Yes please.” before Kurt walked over to the counter with a roll of his eyes.

Neither of the two left actually knew what to say. Blaine heard plenty about Puck even before Kurt caught him up on recent happenings, meanwhile Puck knew nothing about Blaine. He did however know that he had a strange urge to try and intimidate him.  
“So. What's up with the uniform?” He asked instead.  
“Oh,” Blaine glanced down at himself. “Dalton is around two hours away, so I just leave straight from warbler practice to get here.”

“Two hours for coffee?” Puck asked, trying not to laugh at the idea. “Dude! Don't you guys have Starbucks or something at gay Hogwarts?” Blaine blinked, chuckling lightly and opening his mouth to reply until Kurt cut him off. He set three drinks on the table and took his seat in between Puck and Blaine. He slid Blaine's over to him and another over to Puck. “I got you a caramel latte.” He explained, continuing when being looked at skeptically. “What? We both know you like sweets, and it's decaf.” He shrugged.

“You bought me a girl drink.”  
Kurt tilted his head down and looked at him like he was asking how to spell  _orange_. “I also payed for it. Now shut up and try it at least.”  
Neither of them noticed Blaine's faint worry as to what Puck would say in return. Bully gone soft wasn't much reassurance that he wasn't going to be insulting to Kurt at the least, and frankly the more lasting impression he had so far was that Puck was just that, a bully.  
Regardless of Blaine's mild paranoia for Kurt's well being, Puck just nodded in appreciation for the assertiveness and took a sip as he was told. Under Kurt's expectant watch, he sighed when setting the cup down. “Ok, you win. It's good.”  
Kurt smiled victoriously and sat back in his chair. “So,” He started, looking over at Blaine. “How was the drive?”

As the conversation between the two started, talking about the music on the radio and Kurt saying something about making the drive himself at some point, Puck just listened and watched patiently. He needed this chance to observe. It didn't take long to make the connection between Kurt's extra peppiness and Blaine. The short boy seemed completely oblivious to the tension in Kurt's body and the bags under his eyes. Just like everyone else. If this was who Kurt had a crush on, Puck might throw a fit.

He realized in mild horror that Kurt might actually have feelings for Blaine. Why else was he trying so much harder to be comfortable? At school he could be snappy and sarcastic and his friends wouldn't be all that phased, but he was missing prime opportunities for his comments and that had to be intentional. There was no way Kurt Hummel would miss a chance to out-sass someone.

Puck on the other hand was not about to miss the opportunity. He probably insulted the pair more than he normally would, but it was all small side comments and nothing actually aimed at anyone. When Blaine had to leave, Puck and Kurt followed him out to the parking lot and said their goodbyes before climbing back into Kurt's navigator. As soon as their doors were both closed, Kurt threw his fist at Puck's shoulder.  
“What the hell dude?” Puck winced. Kurt was stronger than he looked.  
“You're an asshole!” Kurt snapped with not even half the bite he'd have if he meant it. Puck just shook his head and grinned.

After that, Kurt filled Puck in on his and Blaine's conversations, let him read over his shoulder during glee to get a laugh. He didn't bother hiding the phone when a more serious topic came up either. Blaine, despite all of his almost Rachel-like tendencies Puck noticed, was sure to check on Kurt's situation at school regularly. Puck appreciated that silently, just as much as he resented Blaine. He had no good reason, really. But he felt like scoffing and rolling his eyes every time the boy showed concern for Kurt. Puck would watch out for him just fine, they didn't need Blaine trying too.

The worst thing as of late wasn't actually Kurt's harasser, but the cold shoulder he was getting from the club. Kurt's outburst earned him a corner all to himself. No one dared ask how he was, Finn kept his distance all together, and several people would say small comments loud enough for him to hear in the back about secret keeping or betrayal. It was obnoxious. It took all of Puck's self control not to do something about it and just sit with his friend instead. He wouldn't bother if he didn't see the toll it was taking on Kurt.

Within the span of a week, Kurt had slipped back into his irritable, quiet shell. Puck liked to think he had helped for a little while but after the wedding passed Kurt didn't seem to think there was anything to look forward to at school. His excited buzz was gone. It was starting to make Puck want to yell at everyone even more, but it was still Kurt's problem and his information to share.

He isn't sure how different things were at home either. Finn tried to make it up to Kurt, very publicly at that and it was good. But one dance didn't mean any issues he had to deal with were gone or that Kurt instantly trusted him now. For the most part Puck didn't see them interact outside of glee or lunch but at least they were being civil again.

Meanwhile some people were more upset than he expected due to his stunt the other day. Just a handful really, but a very angry handful. Karofsky was gone the day after the truth came out about the death threat, and since he was the biggest offender against Kurt it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Puck lessened the damage he himself took by throwing a punch he shouldn't with probation hanging over his head still, and keeping up with his usual ways otherwise. Gross pranks and geeks thrown in the trash, it brought the team together. They might not like Puck, but he still wasn't someone to be fucked with. At least not while he was on their team and the new coach might kick them off if they started harassing one of their own like that.

The hockey team didn't back down so easy. Or at all. He didn't even protest when they threw him in the trash. He's done it enough to other people he kind of deserved it anyway. He'd like to think he's changed enough that it wouldn't be true, but he couldn't help but feel so much lower when that happened. In fact, after ten minutes of just laying there, he was bitter about absolutely everything.  
Why today? Why now? Did he really think he had grown above anyone? He was Noah Puckerman, he wasn't meant to get good things. Thinking he could make it any longer without being thrown down was just ignorance. Hopeful, delusional ignorance. He wasn't the bully he used to be, but he still was one. And hell, being friends with Kurt was the biggest accomplishment he's had in a while. The amount of work he was starting to put into and would be willing to put into Beth was the last bout of good he really did, and that was about a year ago. What a record. Of course the school didn't grow with him. He barely grew at all anyway.

It was Burt's fault for getting him to spend time with Kurt. He could have at least remained a glee loser with too much intimidation factor to be messed with. That would have been fine. Still a loser in his own way like the rest of the bullies in that school, but at least he'd be in ignorant bliss like them. Thinking there was nothing more to school than enjoying yourself while you're there, that you don't really hurt these kids anyway since it's just four years. But no. He befriended Kurt. He cares about Kurt freaking Hummel. That old kind of ignorance was gone. He knew the toll his actions took. Hell, if he felt like this when thrown once, how must that feel to the losers he went after regularly? He'd have to ask Kurt about it later, if it's something that stops affecting him or if it just keeps going.

When he finally climbed out, still grumbling about what lead him to that moment, he did so before he could dig into himself any deeper. That was the last thing he needed. Instead, he'd go find Kurt. Bitter, yes. Was it Kurt's fault? It kind of felt like it. But he was still the best friend Puck actually had lately.

When he went to meet him at his locker on Friday, intending on spending the majority of his weekend by Kurt's side again. He saw Kurt there already, talking to Tina and Rachel. None of them looked happy.  
“What's going on?” Puck asked as he approached. Kurt looked up at him and opened his mouth to speak, only sighing when Rachel cut him off.  
“Kurt isn't listening to us, that's what! You agree with us, don't you Noah?”  
“Ok one, probably not. Two, agree with you about what?”  
“That Kurt is being ridiculous! First he doesn't tell any of us what's going on, in favor of telling you of all people—no offense intended-and then he goes and shuts us out!”

Puck scoffed. “Really, Berry? I just can't believe I have to explain this shit to you.” He started, ignoring the girl's insulted expression. “You guys, all of you, decided to yell at him for not asking for help, which is his choice by the way. And then  _you_  shut  _him_  out all week with a cold shoulder and a really pathetic attempt at being passive aggressive. I'm not kidding either, the only people in that room who aren't bitching over their shoulder about him aren't saying jack shit either way. You guys kind of suck ass lately.”

Kurt looked up at him and gave a small nod as his thanks, which Puck returned. Rachel and Tina however, stared up at him like he was pulling assumptions out of his ass. He rolled his eyes before tapping Kurt's shoulder with the back of his hand. “Let's beat it.”  
“Absolutely.”  
Once they were in Kurt's car, he finally let out a sigh that made Puck raise a brow curiously. “You alright there?” He was a little too tired to deal with anyone else's shit, but at least it was distracting him from his own.

“Oh I'm just swell.” Kurt huffed. “I may have very well lost most of my friends and the one actual escape I had from Karofsky but yes, I'm perfectly fine.” Puck wanted to wince at how tired he sounded. They sat in silence for several tense minutes before Puck spoke up again.

“...I have an idea.”  
“We're not outing him.”  
Puck slumped in his seat. “Why not?”  
“Because it's his choice. I wont force anyone to do anything and that includes coming out. For all we know his parents could kick him out or beat him for it. Not to mention how he'd be treated just as poorly as me at school. I can't do that to anyone.”

He shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. It was more than seeing a fellow club member be hurt, this was Kurt and he was letting it happen. “He threatened to kill you.” He snapped.  
“I know.”  
“And you're not even mad? Are you kidding me?!” With a deep breath, Kurt turned to look at him.  
“Yes. I am. But it doesn't do any good to sit around and boil so I'm going to get my coffee,and calm down. Simple as that.” He said before starting up the engine and turning his attention to the road. “Moping around doesn't do anything either and you do that.” Kurt pursed his lips but refused to answer, so Puck continued as the idea sparked in his head. “Go to your place and grab your face junk, you're staying with me the weekend.”

Kurt rolled his eyes, but changed his route as told. “And why exactly am I going to do that?” “Because getting mad feels awesome and I'm gonna show you how to fuck shit up.” Kurt opened his mouth to reply, the snark about to come obvious on his face before he even spoke, and Puck promptly cut him off. “It's good for you. And who better to take you under their wing than me? We could be total badasses together if you stopped putting up with shit, and I guess I can respect not outing the dickwad but dude, you gotta do something to let off some steam. I mean most people just take up smoking or something but I'm not cool with that so we're gonna do this Puckerman style.” He explained, voice dripping with confidence in himself. He sounded ridiculous when he talked like that, but it got Kurt to crack a smile.  
“Ok. But if I get in trouble I'm blaming you entirely.”

[...]

Kurt sent a quick message to Finn to let him know what was happening, seeing as their parents would still be gone for the remaining three weeks of their honeymoon, he was the only one to update. Kurt then grabbed his small bottles of skin care and another shirt and tucked it all into his bag, having already dumped the school supplies on his bed to empty it out. Puck waited in the car, blasting the radio while he did. As Kurt trotted back out to the car, a grin spread over his face.

They had a few hours before Puck deemed it safe to screw around which were spent on the couch, talking about nothing in particular, but it was easy. Kurt ended up laying across Puck's lap and Puck poked Kurt whenever they fell silent. Once they were getting up, Kurt checked his phone and scoffed at the ten messages from Finn and Blaine, and Puck reached over his shoulder to grab it from him. “What do we have here, hm?”

Kurt didn't do more than roll his eyes. “No idea.” So Puck read them aloud.  
“Ok so from Finny boy, we have... _Dude what do you mean you're not home this weekend? Where are you? Is everything ok because you like never miss a text_.” He paused, brows furrowing at the screen. “Ok he types worse than I do.”  
“I am well aware.”

“Anyway. _Are you_ wit _Puck cause he isn't answering either_.” He set his chin on Kurt's shoulder as he went back to click on Blaine's messages. “I guess he gave up there. From Frodo we've got... _Hope things are going ok there, let me know if you need some company this weekend_ —My my, Hummel, I think he's flirting!” He laughed before continuing. “Next one. _Jeff and Nick are stealing Wes' gavel_ -Why the fuck does the guy have a gavel...”  
“I'll explain later. Continue.”

“Kay. _Half of us aren't even here on the weekend and he still insists on using it, I think he might knock over a bookshelf in the hunt. If I die, tell-dot dot dot-someone I love them. He found it and I swear he was going to throw it at Jeff for laughing about it._ ” He paused again, growing more amused as he read the last message and as he spoke, it showed in his voice. “I _'m guessing you're with Puckerman right now, so let me know how that goes. I know you trust him but all things considered, I want to make sure you're ok there. Be safe._ ”

Kurt buried his now pink face in his hands and resisted the urge to snatch the phone back. Puck on the other hand simply laughed and started on a reply that he probably wouldn't mention until Kurt found out himself.

To Doe Eyes: Puckerman speaking. Sup frodo?  
From Doe Eyes: Um, hi... Where's Kurt?  
To Doe Eyes: Right in front of me but he doesn't know I'm sending anything. Anyway  
To Doe Eyes: Try to slip that wes guy some booze or smthing. And ur some while ur at it, u guys have really lame pranks. Loosen up!  
To Doe Eyes: Gotta scram before he's onto me but I'll send u some pics later, I'm showing my boy how to unwind in a bit too

“Do I get my phone back now?” Kurt asked, muffled by the hand still over his face while the other raises, waiting for Puck to hand the device back.  
After a moment to debate it, he steps back farther. “Nope. I'm confiscating it for the rest of the night.”  
“What?!” Kurt suddenly turned around to face him, just as he starts typing a message out to Finn.

To Finn: Yo, puckerman speaking. Ur bro needs some lessons in anger management and I've taken the role of teacher  
From Finn: dont get him arrested!!  
To Finn: who do u take me for? This his first night out with puckzilla, we'll be chill I promise  
To Finn: I'm also turning his phone off so I'll talk to ya later  
From Finn: …k

“You aren't going to lighten up with paranoia on your ass all night, so yes I'm keeping it and I'm shutting it off.” Puck explained as he talked to Finn. When the conversation ended, he held the power button until the screen went black and he promptly pocketed it. “I told Finn what's up, happy?”  
“Hardly!” Kurt huffed, but despite not grinning anymore, Puck wasn't actually phased.

“Yes, good, get mad. We need all the energy we can get tonight so let's go and get some coffee for the road, yeah?” Kurt was ready to stomp his foot, but instead opted to simply groan and nod. “Good.” Puck said before he left for the garage. He came back moments later with a small duffle bag of possible supplies. He didn't have an entire plan made or anything, but for whatever they decide to do, he was prepared. Four kinds of spray paint, a bottle of whiskey, three empty water guns, and three bottles of water. For safety measures he also had a pair of leather gloves and two halloween masks from the dollar store, just in case they go full out. The bag was mostly supplied from his last adventure like this anyway.

Kurt quirked a brow but didn't actually question him, so he didn't explain. They piled into Puck's beat up, old pickup truck and started down the road. The sun was down but the Lima Bean would still be open for a few more hours, so he followed through on his promise of caffeine first. Kurt ordered to spare Puck the embarrassment of asking for what he deemed to be girly drinks. It was a subtle kindness. When they had their coffee, Puck drove them about twenty minutes out of Lima, saying that this was only the starting point.

[...]

He knew what they had to be doing. They brought spray paint for gods sake, Kurt had an idea about the plans. He wasn't entirely sure about it - given his spotless record - but once they were parked and heading for the side of a building, Kurt's various irritations and pressures were making this seem like a better and better idea. Besides, they were out of town. And Puck was there as his guide. With that in mind, Kurt grabbed a can of red spray paint when Puck opened the bag and he was faced with a blank wall. Then he realized the simple fact that he had never used spray paint but once, and he never painted anything besides his bedroom with a roller in the first place.

“What do I paint?” He asked, glancing at Puck he was shaking his can and popping the lid off.  
“Whatever you want. I dunno. How about one of those brand symbols on your shirt tags?”  
“This is about the be the gayest graffiti ever.” He deadpanned.  
Puck snorted. “Awesome.”

[...]

While they both got to work on covering as much of the wall as possible with various designs, silence set in comfortably and Kurt's mind wandered, much like Puck's. The latter was the first to speak though.  
“So, how the hell did you convince your parents to go on the honeymoon?”  
Kurt paused. “What do you mean?”  
“Come on. There's no way they wanted to leave you here after that shit Karofsky pulled.”

“Ohh, well.” He sighed. “I have my dad wrapped around my finger and Carole on my side of half of the disagreements. I convinced her that between you, Finn, and the rest of glee club now that they all know what happened, I would be perfectly safe. She helped me explain this to dad too, since she also saw the secret motive of letting them have a break from all of this. I doubt she would have helped if I didn't have such a great pout though.”

Puck shook his head and laughed for a minute. Only Kurt would be able to convince both Carole Hudson and Burt Hummel that they should take a break from him being threatened.

“They want me to change schools.” Kurt said out of the blue, about ten minutes later. They were finished with the paint, and he was standing up from where he crouched down to finish his last picture. In the time they had been there, Kurt drew his favorite designer labels and a few quotes from conversations he's overheard. He was pretty happy with it all. Puck decided that it wasn't too bad. His heart stopped when Kurt spoke though.

“They what?” He breathed. He probably sounded more shaken than he intended, or even knew that he was. It couldn't be helped though. This was not the first time he's thought of possibly losing Kurt, and it just got worse every time, less and less to his surprise.  


“McKinely's not only about to be home to Karofsky again, but it's still full of homophobes. I told my dad more than I normally would have after he heard about the death threat. And hell, it's not like he wasn't suspicious. He was one of those jocks in high school.” Kurt sighed. “I wont deny that going someplace like Dalton sounds nice. Safe at least. But there's no way we can afford it anyway. Any other school would be the same as this one but maybe without the slushies.”

The two started down the sidewalk back to the truck, both shuffling along slower than they normally would. “What about you?” Puck asked, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Kurt rubbed the back of his neck and inhaled sharply.  
“I don't want to leave. I have friends here. Yo--Glee club.. Do you know how long it took for me to become who I am? If it wasn't for that club I might not have.”

The thing is, Puck understood that. He felt the same, actually. Without that club he'd be the same dumb, shitty, Lima loser he was before he joined. When Finn first started it, he said it all. Being stuck in Lima makes you a loser and everyone knows it, no matter how much you torment people, you're never going to actually be cool or accomplished while in that town. Picking on people was just a way to make themselves feel better, and having the strict cliques was the way of feeling accepted, but they all sucked in their own ways. The only difference was who was a good person and who wasn't, with or without that town.

“What do you mean?” He still asked as they climbed inside his truck. For now, they would just sit inside. He was finally looking at Kurt again, and the smaller boy was staring at the glovebox in front of him.  
“I was laughed at starting at three years old, Puck. The only little boy in ballet class. Parents were looking at me stranger than the other kids did, which, by the way is really sad. Grown adults laughing at a child? I've been targeted my entire life. That does things to a person.” He shrugged. “You remember Jr. High, right? And freshman year? How I'd take back any insults I gave back to you?”

Puck nodded slowly. “Exactly. I was afraid. I still am sometimes, but by sophomore year I figured out that no one meant to hurt me physically in high school at least. It was humiliation and mental torment, not meant to bruise me. Karofky put fear back in me, sure, but otherwise I'm not actually scared too often. Before I realized that though... I was waiting for someone to put me in a body bag. Not in a 'I'd better be careful before it happens' kind of way. More like it would be easier if someone did it for me. Which is funny since I tried to not rile them up any further.  
“I thought about ending it. A lot. Ms. Pilsberry found me reading a pamphlet about suicide and called my dad. He said to join a team. I joined glee. I met Mercedes, and she helped me work on getting my attitude to be as openly bold as my fashion sense. If it wasn't for that... Or my dad being who he is, I guess. I don't know where I'd be.”

It felt like an eternity before he could speak again. He knew things must have been hard. He knew he made that worse before. He knew a lot about how Kurt felt. This was another layer deeper, and it was breaking his heart. Kurt seemed fine talking about it. Not like it was a casual conversation, but simply that his voice was steady. He seemed so dull though. “I didn't...”

“I've never told anyone.” Kurt whispered. Puck's mouth was dry. “I still can't believe who I was sometimes... Y'know?” He said with a weak smile. “I'm so...Proud to be who I am and where I am, and it seems so strange to think of myself as being in that place, but I was there. And I'm not going to leave the place that helped me get out of it. I've worked too hard to be alone again at a new school.”

“You wouldn't be.” Puck said quietly.  
“I know. I know, but... I get scared sometimes. Not of what someone can do to me but what I could. What if I fell back into that? At least at McKinely, even if glee club can be mental and not the best kind of “family”, I have a support system. They care, they all do. Just like I care about all of them. It's hard to work with each other sometimes and I understand that, but if I feel alone, I know I'm not when I'm in that room.”

“Kurt... I'm so sorry.” Puck's voice wasn't as stable as Kurt's had been. His breathing was shaky, heart pounding and a lump in the back of his throat trying to escape. So much for being the tough one. “I was a part of it. I was a part of that hell—if I'd known... God, I don't even know if I would have cared back then. Fuck!”

“Puck.” Kurt's voice was stern, and it pulled his attention back to his friend. “It wasn't your fault. It's never any one person's fault.” He sighed softly, placing his hand on Puck's. “Please just accept the trust I'm putting in you right now and remove the guilt.. I don't want you to feel bad, I want someone to understand why the things that are important to me are.” Puck wanted to protest, he really did. He couldn't just forget that he was a part of things, or that he was the only one who Kurt told.

That was it though. He could think about the rest later, right now all he needed to think about what that nice feeling underneath the guilt and fear. The feeling he got when Kurt touched his hand, and when he thought about how he knew things about Kurt that no one else did, or how nice Kurt's breath on his skin was when he rested their foreheads together.


End file.
